Mayra Puente speaks at a legislative briefing on Capitol Hill on the TRIO programs in May 2025.
Courtesy: Mayra Puente
President Donald Trump’s “skinny budget” proposal aims to eliminate a group of eight federally funded programs known as TRIO that support higher education access and success for individuals from “disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Eliminating these programs would be a huge mistake.
How was I, a daughter of migrant farmworkers whose parents have limited formal education and live in poverty, able to beat the odds and land a faculty position at a selective university in the U.S.? TRIO.
A recent study investigated whether becoming a professor was driven by socioeconomic status. The researchers surveyed 7,218 tenure-track faculty members at research-intensive institutions in the U.S. across eight academic disciplines between 2017 and 2020. They found that nearly one-quarter of the faculty had a parent with a Ph.D., and over half had a parent with a graduate degree. They also found that white professors were more likely to have a parent with a Ph.D. compared to Black and Latino faculty. Only 1% of Latina women have a Ph.D.
As an undergraduate student at UCLA, I participated in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, one of the federal TRIO programs the Trump administration seeks to cut. Research demonstrates that the McNair Scholars Program is highly effective. Students who participated in the program were 78% more likely to enroll in graduate school than other low-income students.
Could I have applied to graduate school, obtained a Ph.D., and landed a faculty role without the McNair Scholars Program? Maybe. But the reality is that the majority of low-income, first-generation Latino college students like myself are unaware of the hidden curriculum of academia. Many of us are unable to rely on our parents for academic and career guidance, and we often lack access to mentors who can help us navigate the graduate school process.
The McNair Scholars Program introduced me to graduate school and the pursuit of a Ph.D. and a career in educational research as a possibility, and provided mentoring on creating and conducting empirical research studies, research, writing and conference presenting experiences, tutoring for graduate school tests, fee waivers for graduate school applications, feedback on graduate school applications, understanding graduate school and funding offers, a network of professional support at the university and beyond.
Additionally, as a researcher of higher education access and equity for first-generation rural Latino students from migrant farmworkers and low-income backgrounds, I have examined the effectiveness of other TRIO programs, like Upward Bound and Talent Search, in exposing and preparing students for college. In one qualitative research study on California’s Central Coast, a student shared, “Sometimes, I couldn’t imagine being a student from a different tiny, small town where I just didn’t have a college and career center, EAOP (Early Academic Outreach Program), and Upward Bound to help me.”
Other research finds that Upward Bound students are more than twice as likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24 than other groups. The Council for Opportunity in Education also reports high success rates for students participating in other TRIO programs, including Student Support Services, Talent Search, Veterans Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC), and the McNair Scholars Program.
How can something that is empirically proven to be effective be deemed “wasteful”?
The elimination of TRIO programs threatens knowledge production, innovation, and the education of current and future generations of students, who are becoming increasingly diverse and would greatly benefit from the continued existence of TRIO programs.
TRIO programs also provide services to low-income students, first-generation college students, students with disabilities, and military veterans. Higher education access, made possible through TRIO, is a means of achieving economic and social mobility, which benefits local communities, regions, and the nation as a whole. More importantly, the creation and continued support of TRIO programs is a testament to this country’s commitment to equal educational opportunity and justice for all.
Congress must reject the elimination of TRIO programs if it hopes to see a highly educated and diverse professional workforce in this country. TRIO alumni, estimated to be over 6 million by the Council for Opportunity in Education, should sign the collective TRIO alumni letter and call or write to their respective House of Representatives and Senate offices to urge them to protect and fully fund TRIO programs in the 2026 budget. TRIO alumni and others can share their TRIO success stories on social media using the hashtags #ProtectTRIO and #TRIOWorks.
The narratives and empirical evidence of the effectiveness of TRIO programs are overwhelming. My path to the professoriate is mainly due to federally funded TRIO programs.
•••
Mayra Puente is a rural Latina, assistant professor of higher education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Chelsi Allen, a mother with children in a Fresno private school, buys farm-grown produce at a Fresno Unified farmers market. Allen saw the market while picking up her daughter from a basketball game at Fort Miller Middle School on February 5, 2024.
Credit: Lasherica Thornton / EdSource
When the end-of-school bell rang, groups of students, parents and community members headed for the on-campus farmers market displaying plump green vegetables, potted seedlings and even boxes of free food.
Reflecting the community’s diversity, signs in the booths advertised crops not often seen in mainstream grocery stores, such as chijimisai (a hybrid Asian green that’s packed with nutrients) and other items popular with Asian or Latino families, alongside the standard fare.
As adults bagged and paid for the produce or helped themselves to any free items, young children questioned the farmers about how much water or sunshine a plant needs.
Later, when after-school activities ended, more parents and their student athletes, many still wearing their game uniforms, joined the crowd in the schoolyard at Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno on Feb. 5 — one of a number of farmers markets being held on Fresno Unified campuses this year.
Fresno Unified contracted with Fresno Metro Ministry, a nonprofit organization, to bring farmers markets to schools and increase access to fresh, healthy and affordable food in neighborhoods where it’s not easy to come by.
Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry leaders say the partnership is important for students, families and the community. Here’s how:
Why start the program?
Much of Fresno is a food desert, lacking access to affordable, healthy food due to an absence of nearby grocery stores, or a food swamp with better access to junk food than nutritious food options, said Amanda Harvey, director of nutrition services with Fresno Unified.
Bringing farmers markets to schools within a food desert or swamp — which mostly exist in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods — provides access to nutritious food.
Is this the first time Fresno Unified has put farmers markets on its campuses?
In the past, the district has hosted farmers markets sponsored and run through community partnerships, Harvey said, but the partnership with Fresno Metro Ministry is run with the school district.
The big difference is that through the new partnership, Fresno Unified students and staff will learn how to operate the markets, said Chris De León, the farm and gardens program manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.
Why partner with Fresno Metro Ministry?
Fresno Metro Ministry creates school and community gardens at locations throughout Fresno to educate the community about gardening and provides land access and other resources for beginning farmers and community members to grow fresh, local produce in food-insecure neighborhoods. De León said it was a “no-brainer” for the organization to partner with the school district to engage students and bring farmers to school campuses.
What’s sold at the markets?
Xiong Farm Produce, one of the vendors at the Fort Miller Middle School farmers market, sells Romanesco broccoli. Fresno Unified has been placing farmers markets on its campuses to provide affordable, nutritious food options for families. Credit: Lasherica Thornton / EdSource
The Fresno Unified partnership is funded, in part, through a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that requires the farmers market to sell specialty crops, such as apricots, avocados, asparagus, beans, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and other fruits and vegetables, as well as tree nuts, herbs and other plants.
Crops from different cultural groups, such as Latino and Southeast Asian farmers, can be offered, too. For instance, Casillas Farms and Siembra y Cosecha Farms, managed by Spanish-speaking farmers, and Xiong Farm Produce, which sold Chinese cauliflower, were at the Fort Miller market.
How does the program impact students?
The farmers markets are meant to be student-led.
Students learn how to seek out farmers, work with market vendors, organize, then promote the upcoming event and set up the market, Harvey said.
Students can even earn food safety and handling certifications, an experience Harvey called a “resume-builder.”
The farmers market itself highlights and promotes student clubs and district programs, especially activities related to agriculture.
Harvey said schools give students the autonomy to come up with ideas for the markets: “What do they want to see in their event?”
A community member and student visit a booth with herbal plants. Credit: Lasherica Thornton / EdSource
Eighth graders Lilly Blanco and Andrea Morgan (who managed a booth with herbal plants) pointed out to shoppers how enslaved Africans used herbs, a topic they’re exploring in their ethnic studies class. Aloe vera was used to treat burns and inflammation, and mullein could treat whooping cough, chronic bronchitis and congestion, Morgan said about the research she and her classmates conducted and published in pamphlets for the market.
The farmers market allows students to sell, feature or display products.
“They’ve been really excited planting their own herbs,” Morgan said.
Having students lead, plan and facilitate the events puts them at the forefront, gives them a voice and teaches them responsibility, said Yang Soua Fang, a farm and gardens project manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.
How is it beneficial for families?
While picking up her daughter from a basketball game at Fort Miller, Chelsi Allen expressed how convenient it was for her, a mother of five, to be able to shop while on campus.
“Being at the school setting,” Allen said, “I never thought about it. It just feels right to get some healthy foods and go home and cook.”
Allen, whose children attend Holy Cross Junior High, a private school in Fresno, said that what Fresno Unified is doing gives families affordable access to items needed for a balanced meal.
She pointed out the stark difference between the convenience of the school farmers market and a grocery store, where most people shop for specifics and may not seek out healthy food options that aren’t “in your face” like those at the farmers market.
“We get to serve our students every day,” said Harvey, the district’s nutrition services director, “but to be able to also bring nutritious meals to our adults in our community is huge.”
Will the school district do anything differently?
During the markets, Fresno Metro Ministry can offer food demonstrations to show families ways to serve the farm-grown produce. The food demos weren’t available at the Fort Miller market on Feb. 5, but Fresno Unified plans to do its part to promote nutritious food options to families.
Harvey said the district’s nutrition team can obtain participants’ input on introducing products into the food students eat in school.
“Is this something you’d be interested in seeing on school menus?” a survey asked farmers market attendants about kale.
“The more familiar students are with them, the more likely they are to ask for them at home,” she said. “‘I had this item at lunch; it was delicious. Let’s buy it.’”
What else do markets mean for families, school and community?
The farmers market also “puts a face to produce,” De León said.
“There’s so much: ‘What is this? How did you grow it? How do you cook it?’” he said.
He said he believes those conversations will build relationships between farmers and families, leading to more awareness and a better understanding of the importance of local farming.
Patricia Hubbard is a farmer who grows produce at Fresno Metro Ministry’s Yo’Ville Community Garden & Farm behind the Yosemite Village housing complex.
At the Fort Miller market, Hubbard sold starter plants of sweet peas and kale, including Ethiopian and Portuguese kale. The products are easy-to-grow plants that can hold kids’ interest in growing their own vegetables, Hubbard said.
“We need young people farming,” she said.
The farmers market can pique that interest while changing the narrative about farmworkers, Soua Fang said.
“There’s such a negative stereotype to being a farmworker or laborer, but yet their contribution to our society is so important for us: That’s how we can sustain ourselves,” he said. “But … it’s like we put them at the bottom of the pedestal.”
Connecting and engaging with farmers places value and respect in their craft, especially when they share the stories of how they overcome barriers to become farmers.
Are there more markets?
With plans for different schools to host markets on a monthly or quarterly basis, Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry hope to set up about 15 farmers markets on campuses this school year. In addition to the Fort Miller market, Phoenix Secondary Academy held a farmers market in the fall to launch the partnership, and a couple of markets have been held in collaboration with the Fresno High School Flea Market. For the rest of the school year, markets will be at:
Fort Miller Middle School on the first Monday of each month. The March 4 market has been rescheduled for March 18.
Fresno High School on the second Saturday of each month.
McLane High School, which is still planning dates but has confirmed April 6 for its first market.
Some of the designated schools are located in the middle of food deserts or serve high numbers of students experiencing food insecurity, Soua Fang said.
At other Fresno Unified schools where there may be agricultural programs offering gardening and farming, Fresno Metro Ministry hopes to “fill the last little gap” by creating a culture around farmers markets. At the Fresno High Flea Market, De León said the organization adds healthy food access to an already thriving market “to connect that bridge from community to school, so it’s not so separate.”
Schools interested in hosting a farmers market should reach out to Fresno Metro Ministry.
Throughout the discussion on Tuesday, the panelists explored why a majority of high school students fail to complete A-G requirements — courses they need to qualify for admission to the University of California or California State University systems — and offered ways that schools can help change that.
“I think we have a responsibility to raise the expectations and then lean in to making sure that we have the support in place for students to be successful in those expectations,” said Sherrie Reed Bennett, executive director of the California Education Lab at the UC Davis School of Education.
Panelists agreed that the more options students have, the better their situation after graduation and that increasing access to college prep courses is crucial.
Michael R. McCormick, superintendent of Val Verde Unified, said that awareness should start well before students enter high school and that schools should create a college and career culture with events such as College Days or elementary school lessons on A-G courses.
But beyond awareness, high school students are not getting the support they need to complete the A-G coursework, and parents and students, who often know little or nothing about these requirements, are left to figure it out on their own, panelists said.
“To expect people to go out and figure it out on their own is really difficult,” Delilah Brumer, a student at Los Angeles Pierce College, said about high school students not having the resources to learn about A-G requirements.
Some schools also struggle with offering the A-G coursework or doing so in a way that supports students. In 2018-19, 2.5% of schools offered no A-G courses, and another 6% only offered some A-G courses.
Although Brumer met her A-G requirements at a Los Angeles Unified school, she said the process was stressful and confusing. Her Career Technical Education courses often conflicted with her A-G courses, and she could only take some courses online.
Taking A-G and CTE courses shouldn’t be a matter of “either or,” Reed said, adding that districts should work to prevent those conflicts. For example, Val Verde Unified offered 42 career pathways and ensured that every course within each pathway was also A–G approved, according to Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) research in which Reed co-authored and cited during the roundtable.
Whether college or career, the A-G courses are important for all students, no matter what their plans are after high school, panelists said.
Systemic changes needed
Students planning to attend UC or CSU must complete the college preparatory courses known as A-G requirements — 15 courses in seven areas that overlap with the requirements for a high school diploma but are more rigorous.
More than half, 56%, of high school seniors failed to meet these requirements in 2023, meaning they were ineligible to apply to a California public university and may struggle at a community college.
Research indicates that enrollment and completion rates on A-G courses vary across student groups and schools. In 2023, 68% of Black students and 64% of Latino students did not meet A-G requirements, compared with 26% of Asian students and 48% of white students, according to EdSource’s analysis. The highest non-completion group was foster students at 88%, followed by disabled students at 85% and English learners at 82%.
It’s a multifaceted problem that requires systemic changes at a district, and possibly, statewide level, panelists said.
Aleka Jackson-Jarrell, program coordinator for the Heritage program at Victor Valley Union High School District, said schools must evaluate support through an equity lens because there are systemic barriers keeping African American and Latino students from qualifying for four-year universities.
With just 6% of Black students graduating with A-G courses at Adelanto High, Victor Valley started Heritage, an equity program that helps place students in A-G courses. The program also educates families about college applications, financial aid and housing, spearheading school and districtwide changes, such as career advisers helping all students with UC and CSU applications.
“So many system changes needed to be made in order for all of our students, not just the African American students, to benefit,” Jackson-Jarrell said. “So a lot of things have changed because of this one equity program; they’re mirroring and changing the systems.”
PACE research found that at the school or district level, routine data analysis, such as comprehensive A-G course audits, can also help inform school and course-level changes to support students with meeting the requirements.
McCormick suggested that a default enrollment process in the A-G courses would guarantee all students have access and the opportunity to reach their dreams.
“If we can, through a policy solution or the stroke of the governor’s pen, decide that we need to teach cursive writing, why can we not do some sort of a policy solution for A-G?” he said. “It seems like a viable path is there.”
DOGE (or DOGS, as I prefer to call them) just won the authority to see your most important personal data, thanks to the rightwing bloc of six on the SupremeCourt.,
The six Republicans on the Court claim to be conservatives. They are not. Some of the six claim to be “originalists,” ruling in accord with the wishes of the Founding Fathers. Nonsense.
Who are these people that Elon Musk left behind? No one knows for sure. Were they confirmed by the U.S. Senate? No. What are their credentials? No one knows for certain. What right do these shadowy people have to know our personal data? They are not a government agency. They are friends of Elon.
This decision gives open access to our records by shadowy figures whose purposes are hidden.
Are they building a data base for the next election? Will the data be used to blackmail people?
The University of California, Riverside sign on University Avenue.
Credit: UC Riverside / Stan Lim
What does a Cal Grant signify for students embarking on their college journeys? For individuals like me, it embodies an unparalleled opportunity to traverse the realms of academia and pursue aspirations that once seemed shrouded in uncertainty due to the lack of financial resources.
Raised in a first-generation household where the prospect of higher education was esteemed but financially not realistic, attending college initially appeared impossible for me. When my parents discussed college, they explained that despite their desire for me to focus solely on my studies, it wasn’t financially feasible. My parents immigrated when they were 16 years old from a small Zapotec town in Oaxaca, Mexico. My dad works as a fry cook and my mom cleans houses; yet even with their long hours, they struggle to cover their own bills. They could only contribute about $20 every two weeks toward my education.
Qualifying for a Cal Grant made college feel like a possibility.
Unfortunately, we know my situation is not unique. In my work in the financial aid office, where I field countless calls about Cal Grant eligibility, I have heard many students with similar predicaments voice their challenges. Many callers are desperate for assistance with steep tuition fees, housing fees and basic expenses such as food. Some students, even though their parents’ income surpasses the threshold to receive financial assistance, still struggle to afford tuition and rent and must work full time, which often results in missed classes and lower grades. There were numerous occasions where, after I had outlined the annual costs for a student, they opted to withdraw from the university due to the overwhelming expenses.
But there is a beacon of hope for countless aspiring scholars who have long grappled with financial barriers: the Cal Grant Equity Framework, California’s commitment to reforming the Cal Grant to expand access to higher education. Approved in 2022, the framework is a set of strategies to promote equal access to grants for all eligible students, regardless of background or socioeconomic status. It does so by making it easier for students and families to understand what aid they’re eligible for, reducing eligibility barriers, aiming to cover the total cost of college, and more.
But making this happen requires a dedicated push by California’s policymakers to fulfill their promise and fund the framework, communicate to students and families about this opportunity, and monitor its long-term effects.
On May 30, the Legislature included funding in the budget plan to phase in implementation of the Cal Grant Equity Framework — and thereby begin comprehensive Cal Grant reform. The Legislature’s proposal would restructure and streamline the Cal Grant program, aligning eligibility with federal standards; include a cost-of-living adjustment for the new Cal Grant 2 award that would go to community college students, and remove several barriers to access the new Cal Grant 2 and Cal Grant 4 (four-year college) award. The current 2.0 grade point average (GPA) requirement for community college students would still be in effect, but will be phased out over a four-year period. The current Students With Dependent Children grant would start at $3,000 for these newly eligible students, climbing up to $6,000 over the same four-year period as the GPA phase-out. All current Cal Grant and Students With Dependent Children recipients would see no reduction to their financial aid as they will all be grandfathered in during the Cal Grant reform phase-in period. Taken together, this proposal presents a low-cost option to begin the implementation of Cal Grant reform and expands crucial financial aid to students who need it.
By keeping Cal Grant reform in the final state budget this year, California is on a path to opening the doors of opportunity for an additional 137,000 students once fully implemented, further extending the transformative power of higher education to communities that have historically been marginalized. Among these beneficiaries, 11,000 Black students and 95,000 Latino students stand poised to embark on their academic journeys, armed with the tools and resources necessary to thrive in an ever-evolving world.
These reforms come at a critical juncture when California students’ basic needs insecurity has reached alarming levels. While Cal Grants provide substantial assistance, it’s imperative to recognize that covering tuition alone falls short of addressing the needs of many students, who often struggle to secure housing and may lack sufficient access to food. Our universities also have a role to play by leveraging their institutional aid to cover non-tuition costs.
Embracing the principles outlined in the framework, California is taking steps toward realizing the state’s vision of an educational system that is accessible and equitable for all. By actively addressing systemic inequities and providing robust support for underserved communities, California is paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future in which the transformative power of education is fully harnessed.
The Legislature has now made clear their commitment to putting a down payment on Cal Grant reform in the 2024-25 state budget and the final decision is in the hands of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Governor, we are counting on you to approve the Legislature’s path forward for Cal Grant reform and the futures of thousands of students.
•••
Carmen Abigail Juan Reyes is a 3rd-year Political Science, Law and Society major at the University of California, Riverside and the UC Student Association’s Fund the UC Vice Chair for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Preschool students build a structure from plastic interlocking tubes.
Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education
Author’s original hed: As Universal Preschool Access Expands to Reach More Families of Color, So Do Inequitable Practices Such as Racial Bias, Exclusionary Discipline and Lack of Cultural Representation, Leading to a Crisis for Black Boys
As California progresses toward universal preschool access, the need increases for training, hiring and retaining early childhood male educators who are racially and ethnically representative of the children in their classrooms. A study examining preschool teachers’ implicit biases and expulsion rates found that teachers spent significantly more time watching Black children, especially boys, than other-race children when anticipating problematic behaviors. Further, researchers found that public preschool teachers’ systemic use of exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions and expulsions, disproportionately impacts Black children, with Black boys being expelled more than anyone else.
In efforts to reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions, last year the California Department of Education released a bulletin announcing new requirements for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) that no longer allowed contractors to suspend, expel, or coerce parents and guardians to pick children up early from school due to their behavior. This is a step in the right direction. However, not all California preschool programs are funded by the state program and, therefore, many do not have to abide by those guidelines.
As a Black woman and a credentialed early childhood educator for more than 15 years in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, I’ve witnessed Black children aged 3 to 5 years old be sentenced to in-school or out-of-school suspension because a teacher lacked the necessary skills or cultural competencies to work with them. I would often be the one who other teachers would send their children to when they were struggling. Though I did not have any extra or special training, I was often able to successfully help children reset and return to their classrooms at peace. Once, I worked with a Black male teacher who was more effective than I in this aspect, especially when dealing with boys.
Overall, our success was evidence of the mutual understanding and respect that the same-race teacher-child dynamic has. Perhaps from the child’s perspective, there’s a familiarity in our looks or mannerisms. Whatever the reason, such experiences speak to why Black children need educators who they can identify with.
As it stands, in many places the public preschool curriculum, like that of the public K-12, has long ignored Black history and culture. The state preschool curriculum framework developed by the California Department of Education in alignment with the K-12 Common Core State Standards attest to this. Writers of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3, History-Social Science admit that “the developmental research on which these foundations are based is full of studies of English-speaking, middle-class European American children” and that “fewer studies focused on children who speak other languages or come from other family, racial, or cultural backgrounds.”
Training and hiring teachers and staff who represent the racial and cultural communities they serve is beneficial because they connect better with the students through incorporating culturally relevant pedagogy, which is generally not offered in typical school curriculum. This was my approach upon opening a child care facility specifically for Black families. I found that children engaged more with the learning content when they could relate to it. For example, children expressed an increased interest in reading materials and spent more time in the classroom library browsing through books when they saw characters they could identify with. And the boys in my program took a special liking to my teenage son.
We cannot ignore the fact that Black children are disproportionately suspended and expelled from preschools. It’s also true their communities are underrepresented in the curricula and with regard to same-race educators. For better social and academic outcomes for this vulnerable group, early childhood educational spaces need more Black male teachers.
This is a call for state agencies and schools to put resources into the community by training and hiring educators who reflect the student population they serve. This is a call for families and community members to volunteer their time at local preschools and early childhood centers.
With universal preschool access becoming a reality in California, the rest of the country is sure to follow. To support all preschool children, diversifying the teaching workforce is of the utmost importance right now.
•••
Sajdah Asmau is owner of an African-centered child care facility. She is in her first year as doctoral student in education student at UC Davis and serves as a Public Voices fellow on Racial Justice in Early Childhood with the OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Special education has been inconsistent in California schools since the coronavirus pandemic.
Alison Yin/EdSource
When the Covid-19 pandemic led to school shutdowns in 2020, and students began plugging into their classes online, Naomi Burn saw her 17-year-old son’s grades soar.
Her son seemed more engaged, completed his assignments and was in better spirits. The virtual classes seemed to serve him better. So, when face-to-face instruction returned, Burn decided to enroll him in one of the district’s virtual academies, where he would also be able to receive the counseling outlined in his individualized education program (IEP).
But in October 2023, Burn received an unexpected message from her son’s psychiatric social worker, who had previously provided him with the support he needed.
“He was removed from my caseload at the start of the year, and due to staffing issues, none of the virtual students are receiving their IEP services,” the email read. “I hope they are able to find a solution soon, so that he may begin to access this support.”
Several months later, Burn received an email from the district offering a solution: a chance to make up for lost services whenever the district has adequate staffing. Karla V. Estrada, LAUSD’s deputy superintendent of instruction, told EdSource in January that any problems with unfulfilled IEPs at Burn’s son’s school had been fixed.
On Jan. 9, the next day after Estrada’s statement, Burn said nothing had changed. No one had reached out to her. Her son’s educational plan and needs were still not addressed, and the family was still waiting.
“I understand it’s a societal issue,” Burn said. “But, at the same time, today’s counseling minutes don’t help the child with yesterday’s emotional social barriers.”
Burn is one of many parents in the Los Angeles Unified School District who say they have struggled to get their children adequate disability accommodations and support this past academic year. They say the district has been largely unresponsive and are concerned about possible repercussions for their children.
Experts warn that not providing accommodations in a timely manner could worsen students’ disability symptoms, while adding additional hurdles, including social and emotional challenges.
Meanwhile, the number of district students with disabilities continues to grow, and teachers have sounded alarms that as their workloads skyrocket, more student needs could go unaddressed.
“There’s no time like the present. Right, time only moves in one direction,” said Rebecca Gotlieb, a human developmental psychologist and educational neuroscientist at the University of California Los Angeles. “And I want every student to have all the supports they need.”
When students were attending school online, LAUSD allegedly decreased services provided to students with disabilities and failed to properly track them, according to the U.S. Department of Education investigation.
The agency also found the district informed its staff that LAUSD was not responsible for school closures and was therefore “not responsible for providing compensatory education to students with disabilities,” according to the report.
Meanwhile, the investigation determined that the district “failed to develop and implement a plan adequate to remedy the instances” when students with disabilities were not provided access to a fair public education during remote learning.
Soon after the investigations, the district entered an agreement with the agency, promising to address the Department of Education’s concerns.
“Today’s resolution will ensure that the more than 66,000 Los Angeles Unified students with disabilities will receive the equal access to education to which federal civil rights law entitles them,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said in a 2022 media release.
“I am deeply grateful for the district’s commitment now to meet the needs of its students with disabilities.”
Estrada told EdSource that the district conducts a report at the beginning of each academic year to find out how many students aren’t receiving the services they are entitled to and need. The process also helps the district come up with solutions, including providing services retroactively once they are available, she said.
“There are certain students that aren’t receiving special education services or as outlined in their IEPs,” Estrada said. “Sometimes, it’s not that they’re not receiving services, but not to what has been prescribed in the IEP.”
Less than a year after the investigation, parents and advocates sounded alarms that the district was not following through on their promises and that children were still going without necessary supports.
Lourdes Lopez is one of many LAUSD parents who have had to work tirelessly to get the necessary support for their children. She has two children with disabilities who rely on speech and occupational therapy.
“As a parent, we’re begging for the services the child needs,” Lopez said in Spanish. “But always, they say she doesn’t need it.”
Her son, Dylan, was eventually able to get an IEP at his elementary school. But Lopez said she’s worried that the services Dylan is receiving are not enough to tackle the challenges his disability poses.
“They give him 10 minutes, and he’s in a group. They ask questions to one; they ask questions to another. It’s really sad how very little they are giving him,” Lopez said in Spanish. “Then, they return him to the classroom.”
A growing need
Lopez said that LAUSD students with disabilities are only able to graduate and stay confident into adulthood if “they’ve really had everything, all the services, all the support.”
Going Deeper
From language barriers to jargon-filled legal language in the IEP application process, families often struggle to get accommodations for their child in the first place, according to Paul Morgan, a social and health equity endowed professor at the University at Albany, SUNY.
Sometimes, Morgan said, schools are not proactive about informing parents about services because they can be costly to offer. And there can be instances where students don’t get an IEP because the findings of a school evaluation don’t match the conclusions of outside providers.
To increase the odds of getting an IEP, Morgan stressed the importance of having objective measurements that can answer these questions:
What kinds of challenges is your child having?
Have these challenges been going on for a period of time?
How are they performing in relationship to their peers?
“I know families that are coming from two parent, two income households [where]both parents are highly educated … and they have great difficulty getting the services,” Morgan said. “I’ve had parents say they have to fight like hell to receive those services from schools.”
Adrian Tamayo, a special education teacher at Lorena Street Elementary School, is one of the LAUSD educators who work day in and day out to support students with special needs.
Tamayo arrives at school at 7:30 a.m. to begin a day packed with regular teaching duties like working with students and planning lessons — as well as unique responsibilities that come with a job in special education, including district and statewide assessments that track students’ progress.
As a special education teacher, he also helps students secure IEPs; he administers standardized tests and carries out observations that are central to that process. This past year alone, he has conducted about 34 IEP assessments, with each taking three to four hours.
“It’s amazing how much time out of our own time we put in outside of the typical school day for the average educator,” Tamayo said.
Tamayo says he and his colleagues feel overworked and understaffed partly because the number of special education hires across the district has fallen — alongside retention, which dropped from 90% to 77% among credentialed teachers in the past three years, according to a district committee presentation.
Meanwhile, special educators who remain are having to support an increasing population of students with disabilities — which has grown from 13.4% to 15.9%, despite LAUSD’s overall enrollment dropping by about 20% in the past decade.
Estrada, the district’s deputy superintendent of instruction, added that since the pandemic, providing speech and language services has been especially difficult due to staffing constraints — but that the district has been able to contract with an outside provider to help fill the void.
“You have so many service providers, and IEPs are happening constantly,” Estrada said. “So, (a) new IEP requires potentially new services, and so we’re constantly adapting and making changes to caseloads.”
Soaring caseloads
This year, Tamayo’s caseload began at 19 students — and increased to 27 by the end of the year. A load higher than 28, he said, would violate California’s education code.
He said having the support of a paraprofessional in the classroom is invaluable — as it allows him to break his class into smaller groups based on grade level. But paraprofessionals aren’t always available.
“I have got to mentally prepare for any unforeseen (circumstances),” Tamayo said, adding that he is “always adjusting as we go.”
Tamayo said he is one of the lucky ones at Lorena Street Elementary; some of the programs have far surpassed their cap of 12 students, with a single professional working with up to 20 students.
He also said the number of psychiatric social workers at his school — supporting students with needs, like Burn’s son — has dropped. A year ago, there was one on campus every school day, he said.
This year, one was available to students three days a week, he said. Next year, he anticipates, they will be available only one day each week.
“That doesn’t mean that children that need that support also decrease,” he said. “You’re basically being asked to do the same job with one day of service.”
Despite efforts across various sectors, adults throughout California continue to struggle to access education opportunities that can be critical for their family’s economic mobility.
The panel at EdSource’s roundtable, “Adult education: Overlooked and underfunded,” discussed how adults and their families can benefit from adult education, the common barriers to access and ways to overcome them.
“During the pandemic, our emergency room took in some of our most at-need people and triaged them to the right medical care that they need,” said John Werner, the executive director of Sequoias Adult Education Consortium at Thursday’s discussion. “Adult schools do very similar work with education.”
Barriers to adult education
Panelist Francisco Solano grew up in Mexico, where he earned a high school education but had no interest in continuing his schooling. About 16 years ago, he came to the United States and found himself working for salad-packing companies.
He eventually enrolled in adult education classes at Salinas Adult School and is now wrapping up a doctorate in molecular biology at UCLA.
But the road through his adult education was “exhausting” and “not convenient at all.”
“That’s what I see with my peers,” Solano said. “They are not able to get out of that lifestyle because it’s so difficult for them to be able to have a job that secures rent and food for the families and, at the same time, find time and resources to go to school or try something else.”
Solano also believes that larger companies do not want migrants like him to succeed because that would take away a source of cheap labor.
Rural areas — where barriers associated with time and distance are greater — have a high need for adult education.
Steve Curiel, the principal of Huntington Beach Adult School, said not enough conversations about adult education are held at the policy level because most people in elected positions are unlikely to understand the critical role it plays, having experienced more traditional educational journeys.
Raising awareness and marketing
Carolyn Zachry, the state director and education administrator for adult education at the California Department of Education, stressed the importance of raising awareness and sharing stories like Solano’s among potential students.
“That gives the courage to come forward and to walk in those doors of that school,” she said. “And once they’re inside those school doors, then that school community wraps around them and really supports them.”
Werner also emphasized the importance of actively seeking students. He mentioned specific efforts to speak to individuals at local community events, like farmers markets and flea markets. A TV or radio presence can also be helpful, he said.
Helping communities overcome barriers
Numerous organizations are enacting measures to expand access to adult education, including creating remote and virtual options as well as providing child care for students while they are in school.
Several panelists agreed that virtual learning can be a helpful way to bring educational opportunities to adults at home — though Kathy Locke, who teaches English as a second language in Oakland Unified, emphasized the importance of in-person instruction, so adults can learn the skills they need to succeed online.
“The more marginalized, the greater your need in terms of English level, the harder it is to access the technology to be able to use the technology to do distance learning well,” Locke said.
To improve access to online learning, Curiel said the Huntington Beach Adult School has provided laptops and channels for internet connection.
Providing child care is another way to help reduce barriers for adults.
“Our classes provide babysitting for our students to be able to come with their children. Their children go to child care, and then they’re able to come and learn,” Locke said.
“I think that as a district, we really named that as a barrier and really put our money where our mouths were, I think, and made that a priority to get adults in our classrooms, so that they can do the learning that they need.”
Broader benefits of adult education
Adult education also helps support a child’s education, the roundtable panelists agreed.
For example, a child’s literacy benefits when parents attend English language classes, Locke said. And parents are more likely to be involved with their child’s education later on.
“If you want to help a child in poverty, you have to help an adult in poverty,” Werner said. “Only the adult can go get a job tomorrow.”
Unless Assembly Bill 2097 — requiring every public high school to teach a computer science course — advances in the state Legislature onThursday, access to computer science in California will continue to be inequitable across socioeconomic, racial, gender and geographic lines, according to the bill’s author.
“It’s predominantly our underserved communities, our Black and brown communities, our rural communities, where students are going to schools that don’t even give them access to computer science,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman about his bill, which would close gaps and increase access to computer science classes in California, as 30 other states do.
Currently, the legislation is under “suspense” in the Senate Appropriations Committee, a process in which the bill’s fiscal impact is considered. If it doesn’t come out of suspense Thursday, the bill dies.
According to a September 2021 report, California lagged behind the national average and about three dozen other states in the percentage of high schools offering at least one computer science course, which can build a foundational understanding of technology.
Across California, the home state of the Silicon Valley, only 42% of high schools offered computer science in the 2018-19 school year, and just 5% of the state’s 1.9 million students enrolled. Access to the course varied, depending on the socioeconomic status, racial makeup and geographic location of schools.
For example, the report showed that 31% of schools serving low-income students offered a course, compared with 69% of high-income schools.
Policy requiring schools to offer computer science has been implemented in states such as Nevada, where about 96% of the state’s schools offer a course, based on a national 2023 State of Computer Science Education report.
Closing equity gaps: The need for a computer science requirement
Since the 2018-19 school year, the percentage of California schools offering a computer science course has slightly increased to 45%, based on 2023 data. But California still lags the national average of 57.5% and still shows disparities among student groups and schools in certain communities.
“It’s been frustrating to see either the lack of progress or the remarkably slow progress that we’ve made, and that really emphasizes for me how important it is that we set this requirement,” Berman said. “If we don’t set that requirement, we’re never going to do the work necessary to accomplish it. Not having a requirement — it’s not yielding the progress that our students deserve.”
Based on the 2023 data from the 2022-23 school year:
55% of high schools don’t offer any computer science courses.
27% of rural schools offer a course, compared with 50% of urban schools and 52% of suburban schools.
“That’s why we need this effort,” Berman said about the proposed legislation bringing schools to the baseline of offering the course.
“The data is clear that depending on what ZIP code you grow up in is determining whether or not you get the chance to get computer science education, and that shouldn’t be the case in California.”
National data shows that 99% of high schools in Arkansas and Maryland offer computer science, with Nevada, Alabama, South Carolina and Indiana having rates above 90%.
Among other policies, all of those states require their high schools to offer computer science.
What is computer science? ‘A fundamental understanding’
Credit: Allison Shelley for EDUimages
AB 2097 defines computer science as “the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles … implementation and impact on society, as described in the computer science academic content standards adopted by the state board.” Furthermore, the bill wants students to go beyond using the technology; they should understand how and why those technologies work.
The course teaches and prepares students to “meaningfully engage” in a digitally driven world, according to Computer Science for California (CSforCA), a group of educators, nonprofit organizations and industry leaders that has worked to improve equity in computer science access.
According to the group, computer science education can improve digital literacy, critical thinking and other skills that can be applied across multiple fields, including education, entertainment, agriculture, art, medicine and social justice. For example, a class may create an app that increases access to health care services or explore the ethics of data privacy.
“We require that (our seniors take government), not because we expect them all to become politicians,” said Modesto City Schools computer science teacher Amy Pezzoni, “but because if they are going to be citizens in our world, we want to make sure they understand how their world works, how to have their voice heard, how to make sure they’re not lost in the noise.”
Based on 2023 data, each month, California averaged 45,245 open computing jobs with an average salary of $153,544.
“We are not giving California students the opportunity and access to these jobs in the state they live in,” said Mary Nicely, the state’s chief deputy superintendent of public instruction, who represented Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond during a June 12 Senate Education Committee hearing.
Pezzoni said that offering at least one computer science course, such as introductory computer science, builds students’ “fundamental understanding” of technology.
“It’s in our personal lives. It’s in every industry,” she said. “We just want to make sure they have the skills and the knowledge — the understanding of tech — to be successful (with whatever) they choose to do.”
Pointing to computer science concepts such as artificial intelligence, web design and development, graphics, computer programming, robotics, cybersecurity and problem-solving, Pezzoni said, “It’s … the understanding of how technology works and how many different ways that you can engage with computer science.”
In 2018-19, high schoolers in Colusa, Mariposa, Modoc, San Benito and Sierra counties had no access to any computer science courses, according to the September 2021 Computer Science Access report.
In other California schools, only 34% of campuses with a high proportion of Black, Indigenous, Latino and Pacific Islander students offered a course. And only 30% of females were enrolled in computer science courses even though they made up 49% of the student population before the pandemic.
Opponents of the bill say the inequity in both access to computer science courses and basic digital skills could create difficulties for some students, making it hard for them to do well in the course. Mark Epstein, with the California Environmental Technology Education Network, said at an April 24 Assembly committee hearing that students need a prerequisite course on basic digital skills to even succeed in a computer science class.
But Pezzoni said she meets students where they are. At the beginning of the class, she finds out what motivated students to take the class and what they want to do with their lives.
“I give them the skill, but I allow them to apply it in a way … that’s going to be meaningful for them,” Pezzoni said. “And I have seen students who were hell-bent on getting out of the class end up becoming some of my best students because they realized what they could do with it in their own interest. I have some that are continuing on a path that’s not tech, but they’re really appreciating the skills that our classes are giving them.
“There is no reason students cannot engage in computer science.”
Berman echoed the importance of meeting students where they are.
“If they come in and they don’t have any computational skill, all the more reason for them to be taking this course and to get that experience,” he said. “I don’t think that we should penalize or punish students just because they haven’t had the chance yet to get these skills. I think that’s who we should be trying to support.”
Computer science skills apply to practically any industry a student will pursue in the future, Berman added. The CSforCA coalition, for example, explained how computer science can make agriculture more sustainable and productive, highlighting robotic machines used in farming.
And it can spark a passion for tech, Berman and Pezzoni said. Pezzoni has even had students who wanted to pursue medicine or business change their minds and decide to go into tech.
“They didn’t realize all of the opportunities they have to make a difference in tech, so they made that switch,” she said.
Implementation is a concern
Berman’s computer science bill would require the class to be offered in all public high schools by 2028-29. Even though the legislation doesn’t require immediate action, Berman said some school administrators have anxiety about implementation.
Pezzoni, who started and grew computer science courses in two low-income schools in the Central San Joaquin Valley, said it is achievable.
If “this could be done in a low socioeconomic area in the Central Valley,” Pezzoni said, “it could be done anywhere in California.”
After she started a computer science class in Ceres Unified in Stanislaus County, she said, “Students took it and were like, ‘OK, what’s next?’”
“‘What can we do with this now?’” she said students asked her. “It, organically, will grow. They will drive that demand. But if they never have the opportunity to experience it, they don’t even know what they’re asking for. Or they just make the assumption, ‘Oh, well, that’s not for me because if it was important, they would offer it.’”
Pezzoni said there is a misconception that implementing computer science is a “big scary hurdle to overcome” because of the needed equipment or upgrades and necessary teachers and curriculum.
“And really none of that is an issue,” she said. “I think once districts start diving in and making this happen, they’re going to be pleasantly surprised how easy this is going to be for them to do.”
Berman explained, “You don’t have to create curriculum. You don’t have to create professional development. That all exists already.”
According to a bill analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee, school districts would have to purchase instructional materials and provide professional development to current teachers.
While the exact cost is unknown, “it could be in the millions to potentially low tens of millions of dollars in Proposition 98 General Fund each year,” the analysis concluded.
The Department of Finance opposed the bill based on its estimate of $50 million to $73 million in ongoing funding from Proposition 98.
California has invested nearly $100 million for professional development and certification of computer science teachers, Berman said. In 2016, the state updated credentialing guidelines to allow single-subject credentialed teachers in other disciplines to pursue a computer science supplementary authorization with required coursework, preparing educators to teach the course.
Last year, another bill requiring all high schools to teach computer science stalled in the Senate, in part because of the lack of teachers, CalMatters reported. The following October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1251, the “next step to increase accessibility for equitable computer science education in California,” the CSforCA coalition said in a news release at the time. The legislation requires the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish a work group to develop a teacher preparation pathway for computer science to address the number of teachers able to teach the course.
Graduation requirement removed from bill, but not from vision
Among the 30 states that require high schools to offer a course, eight mandate it as a graduation requirement.
“I think that should be an eventual goal,” Berman said. “I think the next logical step, especially as the economy continues to change and people continue to see the value and the benefit, is that every student should take it.”
When the bill was first introduced in February, it included requiring the course as a graduation requirement. According to Berman, the requirement was removed from the bill.
“I have some colleagues that feel like we’ve already created some additional graduation requirements and to add more is not appropriate at this time,” he said.
The computer science bill passed the Assembly in May and the Senate Education Committee in June. It now sits in the Senate Appropriations Committee, where a similar bill died last year. The bill faces a similar fate on Thursday if the Appropriations Committee doesn’t send it to the full Senate for a vote.
“What the bill does is, it says this is a priority. This is a priority for our students. This is a priority for our communities,” Berman said. “It forces school districts to make this a priority. But I think once they do that, the benefit is going to be massive.
“This bill will make computer science availability and access for every student a priority.”
Hundreds of UCLA students protest in support of Palestinians on May 2, 2024.
Credit: Christine Kao
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that goes into effect Thursday ordering UCLA to ensure equal access to Jewish students in reaction to the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian encampments last spring.
Three Jewish students in June sued the University of California system, arguing that UCLA allowed protesters to erect an encampment that blocked Jewish students from accessing parts of campus, including classrooms and an undergraduate library.
U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi agreed that UCLA knew students could not enter parts of campus because of their religious beliefs.
“In the year 2024, in the United States of America, in the State of California, in the City of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith,” he wrote.
“UCLA does not dispute this,” Scarsi wrote. “Instead, UCLA claims that it has no responsibility to protect the religious freedom of its Jewish students because the exclusion was engineered by third-party protesters. But under constitutional principles, UCLA may not allow services to some students when UCLA knows that other students are excluded on religious grounds, regardless of who engineered the exclusion.”
The order bars the UC defendants from “knowingly allowing or facilitating the exclusion of Jewish students from ordinarily available portions of UCLA’s programs, activities, and campus areas, whether as a result of a de-escalation strategy or otherwise.” It also gives the campus until Aug. 15 to instruct campus security, police and student affairs “not to aid or participate in any obstruction of access for Jewish students to ordinarily available programs, activities, and campus areas.”
UCLA was one in a wave of campuses where protesters built encampments in solidarity with Palestine as part of a campaign demanding universities sever financial ties with Israel.
The Los Angeles Times and other news outlets have reported on incidents in which Jewish students said they were blocked from entering the encampment. An April 30 video of Jewish students being rebuffed by protesters when they attempted to walk through the camp went viral. Pro-Palestinian organizers have said restricting who could enter the camp was a measure meant to protect protesters from harassment and abuse.
Counter protesters attacked the camp on the evening of April 30, attempting to tear down barricades and hurling objects at the protesters. The university was criticized for not doing more to protect the pro-Palestine students.
The university’s police chief was temporarily reassigned in May pending a review of the school’s security processes. UC President Michael Drake has also requested an investigation into how the campus responded to the violent attack on the pro-Palestinian camp.
Attorneys for the UC system seeking to prevent the injunction argued that the university has already taken steps to ensure its students’ safety and access to education, including by creating a new campus safety office that is “empowered to take decisive action in response to protest.”
Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a written statement that the ruling interferes with how the university can react to events on its campus.
“UCLA is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination, and harassment,” Osako said. “The district court’s ruling would improperly hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground and to meet the needs of the Bruin community. We’re closely reviewing the Judge’s ruling and considering all our options moving forward.”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Clement & Murphy PLLC represent the plaintiffs. Becket indicated in a press release about the order that UC defendants are expected to appeal the ruling.
“UCLA is still in charge of its own campus,” Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and an attorney for the students, said in a statement to EdSource. “But the court’s order means that however UCLA decides to manage its campus, allowing the exclusion of Jewish students is not an option on the table.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that UC leaders are working on a systemwide plan regarding how its campuses will respond should protests of the Israel-Hamas war continue in the fall. Drake has until Oct. 1 to issue a report to that effect, according to the Times.
